no, i am not talking about mine (for once!), what i am talking about is creating something wonderful and useful, out of practically nothing!  if you are like this modern mama, your life is consumed by party after party, each and every weekend…now, unfortunately i am not talking about fabulous charity benefits and jet-setting around the world rubbing elbows with the rich and famous – these parties are more of the pizza and punch variety, rubbing kneecaps with the tired and cranky.  if your wee ones attend daycare or are already in school, your weekends most likely revolve around kids’ birthday parties.  i know mine does. times two!  at the conclusion of each party, besides leaving home with tired, sugar-infused wee ones, your precious offspring usually also get a goody-bag full of ‘stuff’.  this stuff ranges from candy, snacks, trinkets, and everything in between…  so what is a modern mama to do?!  here is my advice:  create a ‘pirates chest’, and after each party, let you child pick one item out of the goody bag and then put the remaining ‘booty’ into the chest for later.  then, each time you want to reward your wee ones for doing something above and beyond, let them pick out something from the pirate’s chest!  this works wonders for the little ones – think pirates chest at the dentist’s office…my 4 year old went tearless through a root canal because all he could think about was - afterwards, he got to pick out a treasure from the pirate’s chest at the dentist’s office!  this idea also helps keep your house organized and trinket-free for the most part since you won’t have a million bouncy balls roaming recklessly around the floors of your house. …now if only i can lose my own ‘booty’ as fast as the pirate’s chest!

*(originally featured on poshmama.com…in addition to my full-time job, the kids, the house, and my blog (and my blob!), i have taken on the role as a feature contributor to the fabulous and ‘haute’ site, poshmama.com) …yes, i am crazy, but i think we had established that already a long time ago!